Dr Raghavendra Prasad, presented at both RHS and a the CAFRE Growers Gathering on setting up small scale trails
By peatlands officer, Stephanie Clokey
RHS peat-free industry conference
Held on Tuesday 25 November at Wisley, the RHS conference brought together growers, buyers and retailers to look at all aspects of peat free production from propagation to end user. The conference showed progress amongst the growing media market, with majority turning towards wood fiber and coir, already seen a fall in total peat use across the UK from 70% of substrate being peat in 2009, down to 24% in 2023, highlighting what was echoed in the conference; commitment from industry is strong, however there are still real challenges and limitations.
Although there are many potential alternatives to peat showing success in trials, responsible sourcing was a key topic. Steve Harper from The Responsible Sourcing Scheme initiative highlighted the complexity in the peat alternative supply chains, and the need for alternatives to be renewable and ethically sourced. Stating it’s not clear cut, with coir from India having “40% less” of an environmental impact than bark from Scotland, due to its ability to be highly compressed during transportation.
With extraction licenses diminishing along with valid environmental concerns over the damage peat extraction causes, the reduction in usage is also in part to do with supply issues, with extraction down by over 50% this year due to have rainfall in the Baltics disrupting the harvest, another incentive for many to move away from peat.
At the conference, Neil Alcock from Seiont nurseries also gave an overview of their propagation process, stating they’ve achieved 100% peat free propagation for their ornamentals since 2024, but highlighted concerns over supply consistency, and stating many peat alternatives are not as forgiving. For example many require a more specific propagation period and potentially a reduction in shelf life, concerns that resonates with edible-crop sectors too .
NI context
At the Growers Gathering conference at CAFRE earlier in the month, a presentation by Dr Paul Alexander from Bulrush gave a commercial review of progress stating “technically you can grow anything but commercially you can’t”, and described trials as “a drop in the ocean compare to what we face as an industry”. The main issues being cost, any growers can’t compete with what’s being grown else where and stop many committing to peat-free. Many growers in Northern Ireland are carrying out their own trails, aiding in the industry transition. Shifts to peat-free often mean a change of management, including the upskilling of workforce, higher levels of care and additional equipment, and therefore significant cash injection.
The Northern Ireland Peatland strategy published in September aiming to protect and restore peatland areas stated an aim to “work with the horticulture sector to phase out the use of peat by 2030.” Although, this target causes concern amongst some growers in who are still reliant on use for production. With a delivery plan under development, there is an action to undertake public consultation on restricting retail sales and peat products and phase out its use in horticulture, with the “initial focus of a consultation on the use of peat in the horticulture sector.”
So far, there has been a promising reduction in peat use in industry that continues to move forward. However, some growers, especially within sectors such as mushroom, soft fruit and plant propagators still struggle to find viable alternatives, and questions still remain around financing the transition. In addition to this, more research and consideration is needed in regards to viable supply chains and responsible sourcing in order for sustainable and local food production in the future.
